Sony's film division may be struggling, but the beloved PS3 is going gangbusters. How's a US$3.5 billion profit sound?
Japanese giant Sony posted tripled profit for 2007 over 2006, despite a shock fourth-quarter loss.
Strong sales of the Playstation 3 as well as increased sales of electronics in general propped up the company's figures following poor results in its film and financial sectors, and millions of dollars of operating losses.
Sony beat analyst predictions with profit of US$3.5 billion over the year.
The electronics giant said sales grew 6.9 per cent to an impressive US$84.15 billion with revenues for electronics, including LCD screens, Vaio computers and cameras, up by 8.9 per cent.
Gamers were the ones that really gave Sony a boost though, with the company’s game division seeing a whopping 26.3 per cent jump in revenue due to increased PlayStation3 sales.
As for the losses, Sony’s flailing film division was down by a hefty 11.2 per cent this year and the firm’s financial services slumped 10.5 per cent caused by bad investments, a poor economy and fluctuations in convertible bonds.
Despite the rather positive results, however, Sony is not looking optimistic for the year ahead. The company has predicted that its net income will drop some 22 per cent this fiscal year due to worries about the global economy.